Is this a sign of the adults just not being able to find suitable food plants for their larvae on which to lay their eggs?
From the way they disperse I'd assumed that the egg layer just wanted a high open place so that the caterpillars can catch the wind with their threads and get carried further away, similar to spider babies. If they're general feeders then it makes sense to do it that way rather than lay several clutches of a few eggs on specific food plants. I need to do more research though.
That'd be interesting
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Is this a sign of the adults just not being able to find suitable food plants for their larvae on which to lay their eggs?
Not in my garden! They have a choice of shrubs, perennials, climbers, annuals, fruit trees, potatoes, beans, nettles comfrey and a weedy lawn, and not a chemical in sight.
Ahah the missing piece of the puzzle! I forgot that some female moths are wingless so can't travel easily between plants. Wind dispersal of caterpillars makes more sense if that's the case.
"The other thing that helps is that the caterpillar species that use
ballooning to disperse are nearly all generalists about food plants.
They usually have a preferred food plant, but can survive and grow to
become reproductive adults on many different food plants."
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I put one in the bug magnifier, and at first it looked like a spider. Then it started to move, with the riplley gait typical of caterpillars. What I'd taken for legs are long, fine hairs. The larvae are about 2mm long and dull brown. I've half a mind to keep a few in a big jar full of leaves to see what they turn into. Do you suppose the Animal Liberation people would come after me?
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
And they've hatched!
I put one in the bug magnifier, and at first it looked like a spider. Then it started to move, with the riplley gait typical of caterpillars. What I'd taken for legs are long, fine hairs. The larvae are about 2mm long and dull brown. I've half a mind to keep a few in a big jar full of leaves to see what they turn into. Do you suppose the Animal Liberation people would come after me?